At the Climate Solutions Catalyst, we believe that promising climate innovations are often hiding in plain sight. Our mission is to bridge the gap between these early-stage ideas and real-world impact. Over the last year, we have identified and supported our first cohort of three academic teams in the green catalysis field.
This event marks the culmination of their journey, a chance to explore how the right support can take bold ideas a long way. Join us to learn, connect, and celebrate the power of collaboration in driving climate innovation.
The event will feature
- Team pitches from our Cohort showcasing their cutting-edge innovations
- Panel discussion with innovation leaders
- Introduction to Cohort Nº2
- Networking drinks to connect with the UK innovation ecosystem
Who should attend?
Whether you’re a senior innovation leader, deep-tech investor, industry decision-maker, or part of a university technology transfer or research commercialisation team, this event is designed for professionals shaping the future of climate and deep-tech innovation.
Speakers
You’ll hear from our three cohort innovators:
- Dr Andrea Laybourn (University of Leeds): Developing sustainable, scalable microwave technology for low-cost organic electrode materials for sodium-ion batteries.
- Dr Wenshuo Xu (University of Cambridge): Advancing earth-abundant 2D catalysts for green hydrogen production, replacing costly noble metals.
- Dr Joanna Sadler (University of Edinburgh): Upcycling post-consumer PLA waste into high-value industrial chemicals.
And our panel of experts:
- Alyssa Gilbert is Director of Innovation at the Grantham Institute – Climate Change and the Environment, leading climate and sustainability innovation and connecting students, staff and alumni to real-world impact opportunities. She is Director of Undaunted, a partnership between Imperial and The Royal Institution, powering early-stage climate innovation, and Co-director of Imperial’s School of Sustainability. Alyssa also co-founded the UK Universities Climate Network. Previously, she served as Director of Policy and Translation at the Grantham Institute, co-convened a Master’s in Cleantech Innovation, and spent over a decade working in energy and climate consultancy. She has also advised the Natural Environment Research Council.
- Sarah Jones is a Principal at Zero Carbon Capital, investing in pre-seed deep tech climate startups across Europe. She holds a PhD in Bioprocess Engineering and has been supporting the commercialisation of scientific innovation in various roles. This includes working in university tech transfer at Imperial and Oxford, at the Creative Destruction Lab accelerator, where she launched and led the Climate programme, and now at Zero Carbon.
- Dr Stafford Lloyd is the Innovation Lead at Innovate UK, the UK’s national innovation agency, supporting UK innovators in turning ideas into commercial realities by providing funding, connections and expertise. Stafford focuses on programmes that aim to help scale climate tech innovations. Prior to Innovate UK Stafford worked in an automotive start-up and in the Aerospace sector. He holds an Engineering Doctorate in Environmental Technology from the University of Surrey.
- Dr Gyen Ming Angel is the Director of Venture Building at Prosemino, the first climate and energy-focused venture studio with wet chemistry labs. Its portfolio includes Sention Technologies (battery diagnostics) and Redoxion (Li-ion battery materials), plus ventures in hydrogen electrolysers, supercapacitors, methane mitigation and more. He helps co-found and grow deep-tech startups in electrochemistry and materials science, from concept to seed funding. His work spans technical development, commercial strategy, IP, and fundraising, while leading Prosemino’s continued expansion. Gyen holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from UCL on nanomaterials for energy storage and conversion.